Experience Level
denotes a milestone of accumulation by Normal Units and Heroes. New variously boost the primary unit attributes— :* :* :* :* :* :* :* —and will steadily advance certain Hero Abilities. The feature exerts potentially drastic effects on a unit's overall strength. Viewing the Experience Level can be viewed in the statistics window pulled up by right-clicking on a unit. For more immediate reference, the level is displayed overland and in combat as a line of color-coded medallions. It is listed in the Unit Abilities field within the statistics window, though it is not an ability per se. Its effects are seamlessly incorporated into the affected primary attributes and special abilities. Experience Levels for Normal Units That mortals can grow, and Fantastic Beasts do not, is a theme in the compelling story told by a full game of Master of Magic. This ability to gain constitutes the singular, decisive edge that flesh-and-blood has against all the terrible power of the outer realms— and against one another. The attainable by Normal Units describe general seniority in the races' warrior castes: ; :Recruits are green troops drawn directly from among the citizenry of a town lacking an advanced military complex. They could be a garrison for a peaceful backwater, emergency conscripts, or the earnest beginnings of an enterprising Wizard, but they will need more training to be battle-worthy. ; :Regulars have mastered basic fighting techniques either through a solid mercenary background in a Fighters' Guild or through some real engagements overland. ; :Veterans either received prior War College training or have seen extensive action in the field. They are tougher than Regulars, utilizing advanced battle strategies and tactics. ; :Elite units are the cream of most normal armies. They may have vast campaign experience, followed an Armsmaster Hero, or held rites before an Altar of Battle. In any case they are wily and dangerous combatants. ; :Ultra-Elite units are only seen in the ranks of Wizards with exceptional faculties for military development. With a Warlord Retort or an active Crusade Spell, these Wizards drive their troops to a peak of excellence beyond the reach of rival nations. ; :Champions, bolstered by both the Warlord Retort and a Crusade, are transcendent warrior fanatics, the last, best defense for the cause of , and their abilities are incredible. Packs of Champion high-tier units can go toe-to-toe with any Node or Lair guardians and will absolutely demolish mundane armies. Attribute Improvement Table - Normal Units The following table illustrates the cumulative progress of the primary attributes for Normal Units with each new . * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the Crusade spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both the Warlord Retort and the Crusade spell must be in play simultaneously. Effects of Attribute Progression Each in a gains these bonuses. This includes creatures' unusual and , which are made by each separately before any exchanges in melee combat occur. Generally, then, weak units with many and low initial attributes (Spearmen, Bowmen, etc.) achieve the largest relative gains at new . such as the Golem or Dragon Turtle already boast very high attributes. They will only make large leaps in power at the , , and levels, where bonuses augment their inherently-strong by a fixed percentage. Indeed, the and gains made at the three highest levels make them profound steps for all units. They are the stages where experience truly bears fruit. To conceptualize these level mechanics, take High Men Spearmen, one of the most wretched units in Master of Magic. They have double the staying power and four times the killing power as than they began with as . At Elite the full unit has applying at accuracy— an average of 8x that need to be blocked by enemy . Casualties will always be heavy among Spearmen, and counterattacks by high-tier units will usually wipe them out, but will severely maim any units lacking the to fully mitigate each attack. While such "burst damage" may humble an Golem's swing and shame its counterpart's , the demands of battle may of course favor a Golem of any level. A throws all its into a single attack so that have just that one chance to block. It also maneuvers, fights, and retaliates at its absolute fullest power to its last breath, which in the case of a fresh Golem's massive defenses, could mean victory even against strong Fantastic Units with proper team composition. It would certainly mean a lot of dead Spearmen. Effect on Unit Abilities Of the special abilities possessed by many Normal Units, some have actual magnitudes: :* Ammunition :* Fire Breath :* Holy Bonus :* Scouting :* Poison Touch :* Thrown Attack Of these, will only affect and attacks. Also, the game somehow manages to differentiate between a natural and the imparted by Chaos Channels, and only the naturally-occurring version can level up. Effect on Costs does not incur any corresponding changes to a unit's or Upkeep Costs whatsoever. Advancement is unambiguously positive; whatever green units can do, their experienced counterparts can do better for the same price. The need to build inexperienced units arises as a matter of circumstance. A produced in hotly-contested territory may serve a more immediate need than a version of it trained back at the Fortress. Experience Levels for Heroes Whatever can be said for Normal Unit runs much deeper for Heroes. The concept is tied to the Hero's own epic story: rising from an adventurer in the ranks of a Wizard's army at the , , , and levels; to an indispensable leader and advocate of the Wizard's cause at the , , and levels; to a terrifying force of the planes at the and levels. Just so, Heroes in Master of Magic blend the tactics and strategy elements with storytelling and high adventure. Attribute Improvement Table - Heroes augment Heroes' primary attributes faster and further than they do with Normal Units. The following table illustrates the cumulative base progression of the primary attributes for Heroes with each new level, not considering feedback from possible Hero Abilities belonging to a particular Hero. Ability Improvement Tables - Heroes The charts in this section illustrate how affects the magnitude of Hero Abilities. : :Super-strength Hero Abilities are essentially 50% more sensitive to , with fractional results being rounded down, as shown in the progression table below. :Main article: Leadership Improvement Table :Each , Leadership's effect extends a tiny bonus to and as well, equal to half the bonus rounded down. :Main article: Caster Improvement Table :The Caster ability also rises by its base times the . Things would be pointless if this was not plainly the case, but for clarity, note that attribute bonuses awarded by the Hero Abilities stack with the attributes bonuses gained naturally when gaining . Take for instance the hardest-hitting melee attacker among the non-champions, Shalla the Amazon. Heroes enjoy a steady natural progression for their basic and , just as visualized in the first chart above. Shalla stacks Might onto that default , though, and Blademaster onto the default , in the manner described by the second chart. By the time she reaches , this is a radical interaction of: * + + * + + delivered at an averages to , and this notwithstanding her Thrown Attack. The enemy really have their work cut out for them. Unaffected Hero Abilities The Hero Abilities unaffected by elicit some mixed reviews. They are not outright bad abilities, but their selection as Random Hero Skill Picks means a missed opportunity for an ability with great long-term potential. :* Charmed: As the heroes' increases with the , at some point this ability will become useless. :* Noble: This ability does not increase with the but the 10 - 20 extra gold will support better enchantments as they become available. :* Lucky: It still deserves full honorable mentions. The and are easy enough to duplicate, but the is most certainly not. It really does scale with , in a sense, through its highly-unusual multiplicative effect on a Hero's naturally rising . Gaining Levels After a battle, is immediately awarded for each vanquished enemy unit (including vanquished summons) to the victorious Normal Units and Heroes that were present at the battle for any duration, including fallen allies that regenerated or were raised, and those who were recalled to the Summoning Circle. At the end of a turn, all living Normal Units and Heroes across the planes gain , whether they fought in battles or not. When the next turn begins, new are awarded to units who now meet the requisite values. The level mechanics enjoy particular synergy with the of magic, which nurtures mortal life and achievement, and receives some interference from the and , which deform life. Instances of this are among the factors described below. What Influences Fighters' Guild : :All units built in a Town containing a Fighters' Guild will start with (normally as Regulars). Usually the extra is just icing on the cake; prioritized construction of a Fighters' Guild often literally moves the game forward with the introduction of tough, higher-tier units. War College : :All units built in a Town containing a War College will start with (normally as Veterans). Altar of Battle : :All units built in a Town containing the Altar of Battle will start at maximum strength, with (normally as Elite). Heroism : :While this Unit Enchantment is in effect, the target Normal Unit is , and a target Hero is a . It is only modified by the Warlord Retort and an active Crusade when cast overland as a persistent spell. Casting Heroism very early on will leverage the benefits of levels in a highly-advantageous way. The sudden introduction of low-tier units can make the difference against neutral garrisons, marauding armies, and even a few Fantastic Units. Warlord and Crusade : : :These perform the identical, and fully-stacking, functions of giving units a free by adjusting the requirements for Normal Unit and Hero levels down by a full level each. The following charts illustrate how Normal Units gain access to otherwise-forbidden levels, and Heroes realize their potential much earlier, contingent on one or both these assets: : : What Influences Armsmaster : :When a turn ends, Normal Units stacked with Armsmaster Heroes receive bonus corresponding to the magnitude of the ability. Chaos Channels : :Units touched by this spell continue to earn per turn, as well as the training conferred by an Armsmaster, but they no longer gain combat experience. Black Channels : :Once cursed by this Unit Enchantment, units retain all which they have learned so far, but will never again earn or reach new . Dismissing the enchantment merely removes the extra and bestowed by Black Channels and saves the Upkeep Cost. Animate Dead : :Dead units need not stay that way for a powerful Wizard. Reanimated units come roaring back into battle at full health with all of their mana and abilities recharged, and the friendly ones even linger on if the casting Wizard's side was victorious, but are thereafter Undead Fantastic Units, and can no longer gain . Victories... Constant Victories :Admittedly, this factor is not quite like the others listed. But Master of Magic rewards Wizards who win lots of battles consistently, and it is something available to any Wizard, at any time— for free, sometimes— who picks his fights carefully. are one of many spoils awaiting the victors of a battle. thus gained serve as both a reward and enabler for further victories. Category:Unit Attributes